What to see

Whatever the time of year, there is always much to see and do at the Watercress Line. Travelling our 10 mile line from one end to the other takes approximately 40 minutes. Your ticket gives you ALL DAY UNLIMITED TRAVEL, allowing you to hop on and off at any of our four stations.

A beautiful Georgian market town and the home of Hampshire’s watercress industry.

Grab something delicious to eat or drink from our West Country Buffet open every day the trains are running and Tuesday-Sunday from February – September. Watch the trains go by on our south facing platform.

View the trains arriving and departing from our lovely South facing picnic area.

It is only a two minute walk to the High Street lined with independent shops and pubs

Take a wonderful rural walk and explore the area - theMillennium Trailstarts here

ROPLEY

A country station famous for its topiary, once housing only a small goods yard it has now become the engineering hub of the Watercress Line.

Investigate our impressive engineering sheds and see preservation in action from the viewing galleries open in all workshops.

Walk in Harry Potter’s footsteps over the railway footbridge where he received his Hogwarts Express ticket – theKing’s Cross bridge is now here in Ropley.

The station building on Platform 2 houses a restored ticket office and a representation of a typical station masters parlour.

Our children’s playground and picnic area in the orchard offer fantastic views so children can play while adults can take in the view.

Ourminiature railwayis also included in your ticket and runs during every special event and every Saturday in April up to the end of October.

MEDSTEAD & FOUR MARKS

A typical country station, it is smaller and more peaceful than our other stations and offers a range of local walks. Experience nostalgic sights, sounds and smells of steam as our locomotives work hard going ‘over the Alps’on the 1 in 60 climb.

Alton is the eastern tip of the Watercress Line, where we share the station with South Western Railway (who use Platforms 1 & 2).

Beyond the London end of the station is one of our Wagon Group restoration bases and the Railway’s three steam cranes are also maintained here.

On the platform we have a gift shop with a model railway selling tickets, snacks and gifts.

The town centre is a short 10 minute walk from the railway station, offering a variety of pubs,restaurants and high street shops.

The Curtis Museum is in the town centre with a large local history collection.

The Allen gallery is also in the town centre and houses a ceramics and pottery collection.

Jane Austen's House in Chawton village is just a couple of miles away, easily accessible by taxi or take a short walk along the Jane Austen Trailspotting other important Austen locations along the way.